Firearm with a vertically filming camera

ABSTRACT

Assembly consisting of a firearm, in particular a hunting gun, and an image capturing device, for example a camera or a mobile phone, in particular a smartphone, fixed to the firearm, characterised in that the securing of the image capturing device to the firearm is performed such that the sighting axis of the image capturing device is inclined relative to the axis of the barrel at an angle of between 0° and 90°, strictly greater than 0°, and in particular 90°.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior French Patent Application No. FR 13 01317, filed on Jun. 10, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a firearm, in particular a shotgun, a hunting rifle, a handgun or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

Increasingly, users of firearms, in particular hunters, the military and forces of law and order, wish to film their activity.

To achieve this it is already known to attach a portable camera to a hunting gun.

However, these systems are complicated and also dangerous to use, the main sighting axis of the camera gets confused with the (horizontal) firing axis, such that when the shooter or the hunter is filming the latter moves his gun in a rotational movement horizontally, scanning the field of vision in front of him and thus potentially putting the people around him at risk.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by proposing a system comprising a firearm and an image capturing device which is very reliable to use and very simple to operate.

According to the invention the assembly is as defined in claim 1.

By thus ensuring that the image capturing device is arranged so that it can only film the field of vision in front of the hunter when the gun is pointing upwards, the risk of firing a shot by mistake and hitting another hunter in the field filmed by the camera is avoided, as it is only possible to film in horizontal direction with this assembly when the barrel is pointing upwards. Thus in a hunting scene the hunter who wishes to make a film simply holds his gun by the butt with the tip pointing upwards and films the hunting scene without any risk that one of his fellow hunters or a passer-by may be hit by mistake.

Refinements and preferred embodiments are defined in the subclaims.

Thus by providing a system which makes it possible to transfer the mobile phone from a filming position by being inclined, in particular perpendicularly, relative to the axis of the gun to a position in which it films parallel to the axis of the gun, when the gun is moved from the vertical position to the horizontal position, a particularly advantageous system is obtained in which the hunter can film the hunting scene without having to point his gun towards the hunting scene, therefore ensuring the safety of people in the area. At the same time, when he wishes to try and shoot an animal passing through the hunting scene, he lowers his gun and at the same time this activates with the hinge a pivoting of the filming axis of the smartphone and the hunting scene continues to be filmed, then the mobile moves automatically by means of the hinge of the intermediate securing part into a position in which it films parallel to the shooting axis. As soon as the hunter had finished shooting he again points the barrel of his gun upwards, according to standard procedures, and the smartphone returns to the image capturing position that is perpendicular.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the invention will now be described solely by way of example with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gun in a first vertical position, in which the gun points upwards and the image capturing device is arranged so as to film in a horizontal direction at an angle of 90° relative to the axis of the barrel and is arranged underneath the barrel when the barrel is oriented horizontally;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gun of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the arrangement of the invention, in which the image capturing device has its image capturing axis perpendicular to the barrel and in vertical direction or downwards when the gun is, as shown in the figure, arranged with the barrel horizontally;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 2 in which the image capturing device in the form of a mobile phone is mounted in a fixed manner relative to the gun having its main sighting axis perpendicular to the axis of the gun and oriented horizontally when the barrel points upwards;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the intermediate part formed in two parts by an intermediate securing element designed to fix the mobile phone of FIGS. 1 to 3 to the firearm;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the intermediate part in which the two parts are joined together;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another intermediate part according to another embodiment comprising the intermediate part of FIGS. 4 and 5 and a connector making it possible to mutually position the two elements of the intermediate part of FIGS. 4 and 5 at an angle of 90° relative to their orientation in the case of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the intermediate part of FIG. 6 according to another line of view;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the part of FIGS. 6 and 7 in which the constituent elements are joined together;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a gun provided with the intermediate part of FIGS. 6 to 8 and an image capturing device, the gun being oriented with the barrel pointing upwards;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the gun of FIG. 9, the gun being oriented with the barrel pointing horizontally;

FIG. 11 a is a perspective view of a gun comprising an intermediate part according to another embodiment in which a hinge is provided, the gun being oriented horizontally;

FIG. 11 b is a perspective view according to another axis of the gun of FIG. 11 a, the gun being oriented horizontally;

FIG. 12 a is a perspective view of the gun comprising an intermediate part according to the embodiment of FIG. 11 a or FIG. 11 b in which a hinge is provided, the gun being oriented vertically;

FIG. 12 b is a perspective view according to another axis of the gun of FIG. 12 a, the gun being oriented vertically.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an assembly according to the invention. The gun 1 comprises a butt part 2 and a barrel 3 which extends in a longitudinal axis of the barrel. A phone known as a smartphone, with a flat and thin rectangular parallelepiped shape, is fixed in a detachable manner by means of an intermediate element 4 underneath the barrel (i.e. when the gun is in a horizontal firing position). In the vertical non-firing position of the barrel shown, the image capturing device of the mobile points horizontally, that is perpendicular to the barrel.

Thus, when the user wishes to film a hunting scene in front of him he needs to position his gun such that the barrel points upwards, the image capturing device of the smartphone then points in a substantially horizontal direction. In this way any risk of accidentally shooting a person located in the filmed scene is avoided during the image taking. The mobile is fixed to the barrel underneath the latter when the barrel is oriented horizontally.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show another embodiment of the invention. The mobile is fixed to the barrel laterally. When the barrel points in horizontal direction the mobile films downwards or to the ground. When the barrel is arranged vertically the mobile films horizontally.

In the two embodiments described above, the detachable securing of the mobile to the barrel is performed by means of the same intermediate part 4. The intermediate part 4 is formed by two parts, namely one part 5 forming a collar and one part 6 forming a clamp. The two parts are shown clearly in FIG. 5. In the described embodiments the two parts are distinct. However, it would also be possible to provide a single part having the form of the two parts in the assembled state.

The part 5 forming the collar comprises a main body 7 in the form of a U defining within in a space with a cross section that is substantially circular cylindrical to correspond with the cross section of the barrel of the gun. The inner space defined by the body 7 is open at the top and laterally to the front and rear, such that the barrel of the gun can be mounted in the inner space by passing through two lateral openings 10 and 11 respectively at the front (the side of the target) and rear (the side of the shooter).

The main body 7 has two branches 8, 9 which are connected by screws 20 to a respective end locking part 12 to thus ensure the tightening by screws of the intermediate part 5 (formed by the body 7 and the two locking parts 12) to the barrel of the gun.

The two locking parts 12 have an inner face 22 which, when the part is clamped against its respective branch 8, 9, ensures the continuity of the inner face of the U formed by the intermediate part 5 to conform with the outer surface of the barrel on which the part is intended to the fixed. Thus, the main body 7 in the form of a U extends at an angle that is less than or equal to 180° and the two locking parts 12, once screwed to the main body 7 by screwing screws 20 into blind bores 13, increase the angle of extension of the inner surface of the U up to an angle of about 220 to 240°, thus making it possible to clamp the barrel of the gun, and consequently hold the part against it, preventing it coming out at the top of the inner space defined by part 5.

The two branches of the U are pierced with two respective holes 23 extending in vertical direction for the passage of respective screws 20 which are also received in blind bores 13 of corresponding locking parts 12 to ensure the securing of the two end locking parts to their respective branch 8, 9.

At the base of the U, from the side opposite the inner face with a cylindrical circular shape of the inner space defined by the collar 5, a turret 14 extends that is threaded on the outside. Said threaded turret is designed to ensure the attachment to the second part 6 forming the clamp.

The part 6 forming the clamp is a part with a substantially circular cylindrical shape formed by a base wall 16 and two lateral walls 17, 18 opposite one another defining within them an interior space designed to hold the smartphone. One of the two lateral branches is pierced by a traversing tapped hole 19, which receives the threaded rod of a locking screw 21 designed to ensure the attachment and disconnection of the mobile by tightening and untightening by locking against the opposite lateral wall 17. It is also possible to provide an intermediate clamping part in the form of a plate (not shown in the figures) fixed to the end of the threaded rod and pressing completely against the smartphone, the pressing with the plate having the advantage, compared to pressing with the end of the screw 21, of being less likely to damage the mobile device, in particular scratch its outer surface.

The receiving slot for mounting the mobile is delimited by the two lateral walls 17, 18 facing one another and the base wall 16, such that it is open laterally and downwards (opposite the base 16). A plate can be mounted in the slot (not shown in the figures) with a substantially rectangular form which extends on either side in transverse direction along the length of the slot, preferably without projecting out from the attachment on both sides, and also extends in height essentially from the inner face of the base wall or from the bottom to the top of the two lateral walls. The plate is mounted so as to slide on the inside of the slot between a position in which the plate is substantially flush with the inner face of the lateral wall opposite the screw to a position in which the plate is flush in contact with the inner face of the wall.

In the base wall 16, on the side opposite the slot, there is a recess or tapped blind bore 25 at the bottom of which there is a resilient O-ring seal. The tapped blind bore is designed to receive the threaded pin 14 of part 5 for the mutual connection of the two parts 5 and 6.

According to another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, the intermediate securing part also comprises a connector 30 apart from the two parts 5, 6.

Said connector 30 comprises on the one hand a tapped bore 32 which can cooperate with the threaded pin 14 by screwing the connector to the part 5, and on the other hand a threaded pin 31 identical to pin 14 and which can cooperate with the tapped blind bore 25 formed in part 6 by screwing the connector to the part 6. Thus in this embodiment the two parts 5 and 6 are not fixed to one another directly as in FIGS. 1 to 5, but with the interposition of the connector 30, which results in offsetting their mutual orientation by 90°. As a result when the assembly formed by parts 5, 6 and 30 is fixed below the barrel of the gun (when the gun is in a horizontal position) by clamping the barrel with part 5 and always arranging the smartphone between plates 17 and 18 of the part 6, the assembly of FIGS. 9 and 10 is obtained; in FIG. 9, the gun is shown vertically with the barrel pointing towards the sky. In this position, the image capturing device has a viewing axis which is horizontal and it is possible to film the hunting scene. In FIG. 10, the barrel is horizontal and the image capturing device has its axis which points downwards, making it impossible to film the hunting scene. In this position, the smartphone, with a flat shape has its largest surface parallel to the horizontal.

FIGS. 11 a, 11 b, 12 a and 12 b show another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment the clamping part 6 of the image capturing device is mounted pivotably relative to the part 5 for clamping to the barrel. A ball joint 40 is arranged between the two. Said ball joint 40 comprises two parts 42 and 43 articulated relative to one another by means of an axis 41. The pivoting part 43 has the form of a stirrup and comprises a threaded pin identical to the threaded pins 14 or 31 and which cooperates in the same way as the latter with the tapped bore of part 6. The base section 42 comprises a tapped bore identical to the tapped bore 25 or 32 to be fixed to the part 5 and is traversed perpendicularly to the axis of the pin 14 and perpendicular to the axis of the barrel by an axis 41 on which the pivoting part 43 is mounted pivotably.

Said ball joint 40 creates a hinge connection making it possible that when the barrel points upwards (FIGS. 12 a and 12 b), the smartphone has its image capturing device which points perpendicularly to the axis of the barrel and is therefore horizontal in a filming position without putting others at risk. When the hunter lowers his gun for firing and thus moves into the position shown in FIGS. 11 a and 11 b, the hinge pivots simultaneously, under the effect of weight and inertia of the smartphone, relative to the hinge axis 41 and moves the mobile or smartphone or the image capturing device into a position in which it films parallel to the plane of the barrel, in particular parallel to the axis of the barrel. As soon as the hunter has finished firing, as is standard procedure, he again points his gun upwards and the hinge pivots again moving the mobile device into its horizontal filming position, perpendicular to the axis of the barrel.

For a firearm, in particular a gun, the vertical plane is defined as being the plane comprising on the one hand the axis of the barrel when the user points the barrel horizontally to fire and on the other hand the vertical direction. 

What is claimed is:
 1. Assembly consisting of a firearm, in particular a hunting gun, and an image capturing device, for example a camera or a mobile phone, in particular a smartphone, fixed to the firearm, characterised in that the securing of the image capturing device to the firearm is performed such that the sighting axis of the image capturing device is inclined relative to the axis of the barrel in the vertical plane by an angle of between 0° and 90° and strictly greater than 0°.
 2. Assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that the angle is 90°.
 3. Assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that the image capturing device is a mobile phone of the smartphone type, i.e. has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape.
 4. Assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that the image capturing device, and in particular the smartphone type mobile phone, is fixed to the barrel of the firearm, in particular the gun, and underneath the barrel, when the gun is held in its usual firing position essentially horizontally.
 5. Assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that the smartphone is fixed to the barrel of the gun, underneath the latter, by means of an intermediate securing element comprising means making it possible to transfer the mobile phone from a position in which it films into an inclined direction relative to the axis of the gun, in particular 90°, when the gun points upwards, to a position in which it films in a direction substantially parallel to the horizontal plane passing through the axis of the gun, when the latter is in a horizontal position.
 6. Assembly according to claim 5, characterised in that the means making it possible to transfer the smartphone from a filming position substantially perpendicular to the barrel to a parallel filming position comprises a hinge element, in particular a ball joint. 